MU18 Rock and a Hard Place
by PhantomChajo
Summary: It's hard to do a job when no one wants you there. Setting: MU Verse Posted With permission from Author


A Rock and A Hard Place  
By Lady MoonHawke 

  
"Don't you forget about me  
Don't, don't, don't, don't  
Don't you forget about me."  
Don't You (Forget About Me) - Simple Minds

Aurora leaned to the left again, trying to see out the front view screens of the shuttle. It had to be the fifth time since they had reached Limbo Galaxy, but there was still nothing of note to see. She sighed softly in disappointment.

General Steven Landon leaned across the aisle to the right, his head mere inches from hers. "It's still going to be a while, Commander. A few hours, at the very least."

She turned to look at him and smiled faintly. "It's Lieutenant, sir. I traded two promotions to get this close to a field command. Everyone I talked to this past week was careful to remind me that my area was administration and not combat."

"I didn't," he reminded her with a smile. 

"And I appreciate that. Truly. But you can't blame me for being anxious to get to the station."

"No. That I can't." He settled back into his seat, and she did the same. "So you know the missing lieutenant?"

"Yes. We were at the Academy together."

"I saw that in your records. And he was your Cadet Advisor your freshman year." He flipped open her file and paged through it. "Three years behind him and you were still promoted faster. Why do you suppose that is?"

Her smile was superficially charming. "Maybe I play the game better than he does. If I had to guess, I'd say that Jon would never say or do something simply because it was expedient."

"And you would?"

"It's not easy being a woman in this line of service, sir. If I have agreed publicly with my commanding officers while holding my tongue privately, it's no shame to me."

He chuckled. "No, it certainly isn't. So would you be willing to tell me about these difficulties of being a woman in this service? Say over dinner on Bedlama one night before I have to return to Earth?"

She lifted an eyebrow at his suggestion. "That sounds vaguely like fraternization, sir. Hardly appropriate."

"I tend to worry more about results than rules, Aurora. If you don't want to have dinner with me, you should feel free to say so."

Her smile deepened, becoming more genuine. "Right now is just not a great time," she confessed. "It's never easy to insert one's self into an established command structure, and the appearance of favoritism from an officer of your rank would only make matters worse."

"Suppose I give you a rain check then? Once things are a little more settled, maybe."

"I'll take it."

  
The shuttle moved with stately grace up the launch tunnel and settled to one side of the 5-pronged Maraj where it sat centered on the tunnel, facing out, ready to go an a moment's notice. 

Krysten Barter, Corporal Skyedansuer, had slept through the entire flight, claiming that extended space travel always made her woozy, and now Aurora touched her arm gently to wake her. "We're here, Krys."

The young woman yawned and stretched. "Wow. That was quick."

Aurora laughed. "Not really. Close to 12 hours. You just slept through all of it."

"All a-shore that's going a-shore, ladies. We don't have a lot of time for chit-chat."

The general led them down the ramp, waving off the salutes from other troops. Aurora could feel their eyes on her, studying the stripes on her jacket sleeves. There would be no question in their minds that she was an officer, and probably an unwanted one at that. But she was here with a purpose, and with or without their help, she would see it through. Resolutely, she lifted her chin and followed the general into the lift in the north corner.

  
There were more eyes on then as they exited the elevator, and she stole a quick glance up at the high arched dome overhead and the stars beyond it. She'd grown up on stories of this place, and it was amazing to be here now. She just wished the circumstances could be better.

The general led them down a ramp and to a door that slid open on well-oiled runners. It brought them to a short hallway, with an old fashioned wood and glass door.

"Do you mind waiting out here a minute, Lieutenant? I'll take Corporal Barter in first."

Aurora nodded. "I'll be fine. Go ahead."

  
She was standing in the hallway when the office door opened and a familiar face came out, though it was not one she was expecting.

"Uncle Max?"

Astonishment crossed his face, followed swiftly by understanding. "You're here to find him, aren't you?"

She shrugged. "I'm going to try."

Condor patted her cheek. "Good girl. I'll see you later. Tell your mother I said hello."

"I will, Uncle Max."

He nodded gruffly and walked up the ramp and out the silent doors.

  
The office door opened again, and General Landon came out with Krys. "I'm going to make sure someone shown Corporal Barter to her quarters, then I'll be back. Go ahead and go in."

She nodded as the passed and moved toward the door. Before there was time to knock, she heard a gravelly voice from inside the office.

"Enter."

She pushed the door further open and slipped in. "Hi, Dad."

The chair, facing away fro the door, whirled around and crashed upright with a bang. "Aurora? Honey, I know I said you could visit, but now isn't the best" He stopped to study her, from sensible shoes to uniform cap. "You're not here to visit, are you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm not here for a visit." She lifted her right hand, and a sheen of yellow liquid welled up over it, hardening into a shiny metal shell.

Stargazer stared in horror. "Aurora! You didn't!"

She sighed. "You knew I was at the Academy. You guest-lectured a seminar. Why do you think I wouldn't?"

"It's too dangerous for you out here. I have an officer missing."

"That's why I'm here," she said sadly. She squeezed her hand, and the metal shimmered a moment, then seeped back into her skin. "I traded in every favor I could get to get out here when I heard."

"Why? What is Lieutenant Quick to you?"

She chuckled wryly. "My freshman year, Dad. He was my SCA."

"I forgot about that. But that doesn't excuse--"

"I just had to. I can't explain better than that. But if you're going to find him, you need me. And I need the field experience. I'm not getting anywhere flying a desk."

He opened the file on his desk. "You took a cut to come out here?"

"I can talk the talk, but I've never had to walk the walk."

"This isn't about you, you know. This is about a missing man out there."

"I know. And you won't be sorry. I'm going to find him, Dad. One way or another."

"I hope you're right, kiddo. For all our sakes, I hope you're right."

  
Stargazer flipped through another report. It was another hodgepodge of incidents, areas scanned for the missing lieutenant, clashes with the Mob, routine patrols, ships that had required escort duty. He closed it again in frustration. He'd pass it off to Aurora later. Maybe she could make some sense out of it, and the rest of the ream of paper that crossed his desk daily. Nice to have someone again who could keep up with the little-

He cut the line of thought off mid-word. It felt wrong, like he was giving up, admitting that they did need someone who could fill Quicksilver's shoes, at least for the moment. Aurora was here, willing to do the work. And it needed doing, badly.

His reverie was interrupted by the new computers and communications technician, Corporal Skyedansuer. "Sir, I have a Phantom on Channel 38. She says she has information and needs to see you immediately."

"What's her ETA?"

"About 5 minutes, Sir."

"Okay. Send her up when she lands. And call Lieutenant MoonHawke to my office right away. She should hear this."

Skyedansuer confirmed, and a minute later, he heard the call go out over station intercom. "Lieutenant MoonHawke to Commander Stargazer's office right away."

Stargazer winced. That was going to take a lot of getting used to.

  
Phantom wearily pushed the office door open and entered, swinging it shut behind her and crossing the room to slump into a chair. She fished something out of her jacket pocket and tossed it onto the Commander's desk. "This is what's hit Fense now."

Stargazer looked from the baggie of white powder to the exhausted pilot before him, taking careful note of her rumpled appearance and the swollen discolored ring around her eye. "Oh, damn. Tell me it's April 1st all of the sudden and this is a bag of baking soda."

She tiled her head back to rest against the seat back. "I wish, Old Man."

"Which one is it?" the Commander asked. It was clear from his tone that no answer would be pleasing to him.

"Heroin." She rubbed her eyes and blinked to keep them focused. "I... acquired... it from an... umm... one of the pushers I happened to come across while I was there."

Stargazer sighed. "Well, since I presume you have no intent to distribute, you're in the clear. Damn, this stuff is a bitch to kick, and too damned easy to OD on. It's on Fense, you say?"

She nodded. "There have been 3 confirmed ODs already. I'll have the Patch-n-Go there send you the files. There's also a warning out already about the stuff. Most are listening, for once."

"That's a mercy, anyhow. But I can't do anything out there to stop it. I can warn the officials on Bedlama, and I will, strenuously, but Fense sadly is on its own." Standing beside him, Aurora snorted but said nothing.

"Fense is covered." Phantom glanced at Aurora for the first time then back to the Commander with a raised eyebrow.

"Command has sent us an...interim first officer," he muttered.

Aurora grimaced. "I'm not here temporarily, Dad. If...Sorry, when the Lieutenant is recovered, I will take a back seat to him when he's able to return to duty." She offered a hand. "Lieutenant J.G. Aurora Stargazer."

She raised the other eyebrow a moment but accepted the hand. "Phantom. But I'm sure you'll hear me called by other names around here. And for my part, I'll say when. Haven't found his dead body yet so there is still hope."

Aurora nodded. "I knew Jon at the Academy. I'm hoping, too."

Phantom's interest perked up. "Oh? Was he just as straight laced and anal then?"

"He was a serious cadet," Aurora temporized. "But there's no room for goofing around in Mojave, so not a lot more than anyone else. He held more records when he left than any cadet before him."

It was Phantom's turn to snort. "None of the others turned out with a stick up their asses..." She threw a look at Stargazer. "....Oh hellfires. that was uncalled for I know." She ran a hand over her face and stood up. "If you want more detail, I'll give them to you when I wake up, and since neither of the twins are waiting out side, I'm guessing they are on patrol. They will know where to find me."

Stargazer waved a dismissal. "Walk her out, Aurora."

"I'm turning into the doorman around here," she complained good-naturedly.

Phantom snorted again. "He just doesn't want to have to deal with me falling flat on my face outside the office."

  
Aurora escorted her toward the elevator, and tried valiantly to cover her surprise when Phantom unerringly punched the button for the crew quarters floor.

"You must spend a lot of time here," she noted.

"Enough. More than I might necessarily prefer, at the moment." She snorted again. "So your the Old Man's kid huh? What are you called?"

"Aurora. It is my name, after all." She smiled.

"Ah, no fancy code name?"

"MoonHawke. The whole idea of call-signs is kind of silly if you asked me. I know everyone's name; everyone knows mine. Why get spooky about it?"

The elevator stopped and they got off. "You don't know mine. Though I'm sure you'll find out in the next day or two." Arriving at the quarters, Phantom glanced at both the twins' doors. "Damn, which one? Bigger bed vs. closer company?"

"Don't ask me. I sleep alone. But if neither of them will care, take the closer. You're ready to drop and catch some Zzzzz's on the floor."

"Neither care. And the floor is looking better all the time." punches in the code and enters when the door opens. "Later"

"Yes. I'm sure of it." Aurora turned and walked back to the lift, hearing the door slide closed behind her.

The intercom crackled to life the next morning. "Is this damned contraption on? Attention, SilverHawks. My office, now."

There was a thundering stampede a few seconds later, and when the door finally shut, Stargazer clicked off his stopwatch.

"35 seconds. You're slipping, 'Hawks. Time to tighten it up." He looked around. "Where's Phantom?"

Will grimaced. "She wasn't sure" His eyes flicked to Aurora, stationed a little behind the desk and off to one side, then to General Landon, seated on the couch.

"I want her to hear this, too. Phantom to my office on the double. Please,' he added after a moment.

She appeared a few moments later, decked out in a sweatshirt that matched SteelWill's, but pants better suited to SteelHeart's frame. A black sports bra peeked out the top of the shirt, and glints of dark gray armor were visible above the low-slung waist of the pants.

"Could we do these things after I have coffee?" she asked plaintively, pushing a tangle of iron-gray hair out of her face. She flopped into a chair and pulled her feet up, wrapping her arms around her legs. She put herself apart from the others, standing at attention just behind the chairs.

"I'll keep that in mind," Stargazer said sarcastically. "At ease, 'Hawks. Now here's the deal. Command," he nodded toward General Landon. "has sent up some personnel. I'm sure most of you have met General Landon at one time or another, so I'll let him take it from here."

The general stood up. "Thank you, Commander." He stood and moved in front of the desk, leaning against it. "It's good to see all of you again. I'll admit some are more of a surprise than others." He glanced down at Phantom. "You're looking well, Captain Vernadeua, for someone who's listed 'Missing; Presumed Dead.'"

"Just wait til I've had my coffee," she cracked back.

"We'll talk about updating your file later. First, I'd like to introduce the new personnel though some or you already have had a chance to meet them. Let me start with Corporal Krysten Barter, AKA Skyedansuer. She's a computer and communications whiz, and will be handling the majority of transmissions and data storage. She really knows her stuff, so those of you who are just technical marvels and not technical geniuses as well, feel free to ask her for help.

"Now before I introduce our other newcomer, let me make Command's position clear. We have not and will not give up searching for Lieutenant Quick until all possible avenues are exhausted or we find some conclusive proof of his whereabouts. But, in the meantime, the Commander is right. Performance is slipping, reports are being filed late, incomplete, or missing altogether. And the sad fact it that no one here is an officer trained in both administration and field leadership.

"I know you don't want someone to step into Quicksilver's shoes, but for the moment, that's how it's going to have to be. Lieutenant Aurora Stargazer made the request to several individuals to be given this assignment. I'm not asking any of you to be fatalistically in love with the idea. And I'm not asking you to give up looking for Lieutenant Quick. But this is the way things are going to be for a while, so your best efforts to get along would be greatly appreciated." He looked around the room, noting the slow but confirming nods. "Okay. Lieutenant, go ahead."

Aurora stepped into his place as he returned to the sofa. "I'm not here to bust anyone's chops," she began. "I've been over the reports for the last couple of years, and I know you've been struggling the last couple of weeks between being shorthanded and searching for Lieutenant Quick. The Lieutenant has his own way of doing things, and I know you're used to that. But for the moment, until Jon's back and ready to pick up his duties again, we're going to do things my way. Also, no one likes to think about it, but the simple truth is that Quicksilver is a very consciences officer, and he's been out of touch for four weeks, and out and out missing for at least two of those weeks. So while we don't want to, I think we have to prepare ourselves to accept that he may be gone. It is not my intention to quit looking until we find him, but there very real possibility exists that we might not find him alive." She scanned their faces, closed for the most part, but there was a flicker of grief and disbelief here and there. "I'm not willing to give up at any point," she reiterated. "I'm hoping for the best, but expecting the worst." She sighed. "Corporal Skyedansuer will be monitoring communications. We'll scramble on any distress call, anything that has the vague possibility of being our missing comrade. None of you know me, but I know Jon. If there's a way for him to get back to us, he'll find it. We have to be ready to do whatever it takes to help him." They were silent, but she sensed a willingness to try from them, a desire to do whatever was necessary to return their leader to them. "That's all I have right now."

The Commander stood behind the desk, lending her his authority. "All right. You all know your assignments for the day. Let's get to work."

The team saluted and filed out, Phantom unwinding from her chair after they had gone, Aurora at the tail of the procession.

"I hope she has something planned beyond motivational speaking," she said after the door closed. "A few speeches are great in the beginning, but she's got to have something to back it up if she hopes to earn any respect."

"I think you'll be pleasantly surprised, Captain," General Landon said, standing. "Now, why don't you explain to me how you come to be among the living? Not that I'm displeased, mind. I just thought no one from Wild Hunt made it out alive."

"Just your average lucky walking corpse, I guess. It wasn't anything special I did. Just wouldn't give those bastards the satisfaction of dying."

The general nodded. "Good for you. We'll see about getting your status changed to something the bean-counters will like that allows you to keep on doing whatever it is you're doing here."

She nodded. "Whatever. If you don't need me, I'm going to go find that coffee now. Then I'll try talking to some more people on Bedlama. Someone's got to have seen Quicksilver there after Seymore dropped him off." She nodded to the two officers then left.

"Your daughter is right," the General said to Stargazer after a moment. "They're going to have to face the possibility that he's dead and move on."

"Not yet," Stargazer replied. "Not just yet."

It was slow going, getting the hang of the station's routine. Aurora dutifully went through the backlog of reports stacked in Jon's Inbox. For a time, she tried taking them to one of the unoccupied offices on the second level of the station. But she found herself spending more time transporting papers and going back to Jon's office to cross-reference events in the notes. Finally, she sighed and gave up, collecting all her paperwork and moving it into Jon's office. 

It was as Spartan as his office at the Academy had been, and she shook her head. It was just like Jon to have nothing lying about; no clutter, no personal objects. Nothing to distract him from his work.

Carefully, she set a framed photo from the top of her pile on the desk, and set to work.

  
"You look very comfortable behind that desk."

Aurora looked up to see Sergeant SteelHeart leaning against the frame of the open office door. "I'm doing all right. Why?"

"Just thinking that Jon's not going to be happy to find you getting comfy behind his desk."

"When Lieutenant Quick is ready to take his desk back, he may have it with my compliments. But for now, there are reports that need to be written, and the notes are in here and files that are cross-referenced are in here. So I can haul everything out of here, or I can work in here. And I imagine Jon wouldn't like his files hauled over half the station just to save his chair a little warming." She sighed. "I'm sorry. But this is a disaster area. Who was assigned to write the reports while Quicksilver was on leave?"

Emily shrugged. "No one was really assigned. We just scribbled up whatever occurred to us to note."

"I noticed. I have pages of battle reports laid out as football plays, rodeo events, and some stuff I'm sure isn't English. Turning it all into something comprehensible is going to take a lot of hours."

"Zan did a lot of work pulling it all together. She may be able to help clarify some of it."

"Zan?" Aurora asked.

"Phantom. She helped to pick up some of the slack when Jon left."

"I'll ask her. Can I ask you something?"

Emily shrugged. "Can't promise I'll answer if it's personal. But go ahead."

"I'm trying hard to fit in here and get the job done. And I've noticed something. Anytime someone other than my father gives an order, everyone automatically looks to you for confirmation. I need that to not happen."

"I can't make them stop checking with me," Emily protested.

"But you can, Sergeant. If I give an order, I need it to be followed without question. Right now, that's not happening, and I need it to. For the good of the team, they need to follow me without question or hesitation."

"I can't make that happen for you, Lieutenant. That kind of respect, you have to earn for yourself." She pushed away from the jamb. "I have shift. See you around." She was gone without another word.

"How's it going?"

Aurora looked up again, this time seeing Phantom leaning against the doorframe, and she wondered idly if she had picked up the habit from Emily, or if Emily had picked it up from her. She had read enough between the lines of SteelHeart's reports to understand that a close attachment had formed between the SilverHawk and the courier, but wasn't inclined to comment. Whatever relationship was going on between Phantom, Emily and her brother, it was a great deal more discreet than the cadets she had lived with for four years at the Academy. "Slowly," she replied at last. "Are you going to carp at me too for being in here?"

"I'm assuming you wouldn't invade someone's space without good reason. I'm also assuming that you're having as hard a time with that crap as I did. Am I wrong?"

Aurora sighed. "No. You're right. All the stuff I need to do the work is in here. And it's not like I plan on invading his quarters next," she replied a bit defensively.

"I didn't say you were. You want some help with that?"

"You're offering to wade into the morass after me?"

Phantom chuckled. "I can just stand here and make pithy comments, if you prefer."

"Oh, hell, no. I'll take all the help I can get. By all mean, pull up a chair."

"In a minute." She smirked at Aurora's confused look. "I work better with music. What do you like? Please, don't say country."

"Oh, ick, no. Not in general. Ummmjust about anything. How about that old pop music? '80's, that kind of thing?"

"I can do that." She vanished, then appeared a few minutes later with a portable stereo and a stack of CD's. "Just let me get this thing set up, and we'll see what can be done with that mess of yours."

"Hah! I didn't make it. I'm just trying to clean it up some."

"Whatever. You're taking responsibility for it. In my book, that makes it yours." She didn't add that it raised her estimation of Aurora by a notch or two. "So what's a girl like you doing in the military, anyway, MoonHawke?"

"Aurora. Family business. Though we weren't always on the government's side. But my ancestors were warriors, fighting for what they believed in. It's my turn."

"Why this posting? It's not glamorous, or likely to get you much in the way of a promotion."

"Same as the rest of you. Looking for Jon."

"So you know the Golden Boy. What do you think you can do that hasn't been done already?"

Aurora snorted. "It's hard to tell. I can't even get clear on what has been done. But I'm going to do anything and everything that comes to mind to get him back."

"And then?"

She shrugged. "Then then we'll just have to see."

Aurora roamed the quiet halls of Hawk Haven in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. Stopping in the Mess for coffee, she heard laughter echoing down the hall and moved to investigate.

The light in the Rec room was on, and light spilled out in a rectangle on the floor. Aurora leaned against the wall next to the open door and listened.

"Two for the silver lady," Condor was saying. "Will?"

"Three, and make 'em good."

"You gets what you gets, Big Guy. Miss Zan?"

"One, please."

"Brave girl. Cowboy?"

"Oh, I'll ride herd on these, thanks."

"Even braver." His pronouncement was followed by the clicking of chips falling into a pile. The betting went around, and she imagined the pile growing higher and higher, until at last the hand was called. There were several groans and Zan's gleeful chuckle.

"How'd you do that?" Emily demanded. "You didn't have squat when Condor dealt."

"Hey! None of y'all peekin' at each other's hands. That's cheatin'," Jay insisted.

"It's just a matter of getting the right draw. And imagining completely different cards doesn't hurt."

Aurora took a deep breath and slipped around the door. "Hey, guys."

SteelHeart frowned and tossed down her cards. "I'm done." She stood glared at Will until he put his down as well.

"I'd better go. 'Night, all." He looked so mournfully at Zan that she stood as well.

"I'm gonna turn in. 'Night Jay, Max. 'Night, Aurora."

"'Night, Zan." She was pleased that her voice didn't waver.

Condor stood up. "I have duty in the morning. G'Night, Cowboy. G'Night, kiddo."

"Night, Uncle Max." He patted her cheek on the way out.

"Dang," Bluegrass said, standing and piling the cards. "Next hand figured to be mine, too. See ya, Ma'am."

"Colonel, do you have a minute?"

"I suppose. You need something?"

"Yeah. I need to know why I'm suddenly a pariah here. I'm not stupid," she said. "I can see what's happening here." 

"It ain't you, Ma'am. Not really. But the plain fact is you're trying to walk in someone else's boots, and it's hard to stomach."

Aurora sighed. "I know your team has been together a long time, Colonel, but there are chains of command at work here. You can't all just decide that because I'm not Jon, you're not going to work with me."

"You've got his office, Ma'am, and his job. Can you just give 'em back when the time comes? Or will the Commander just ship the Lieutenant Earth-side and keep you on?""

"I'm here to learn from Jon whenever he's ready to teach me. He certainly can't do that from Earth," she pointed out.

"No, Ma'am, I suppose he can't. But if you don't mind my sayin' so, it doesn't look like you need a lot of teachin', Ma'am, just in my opinion."

"I'll confess something to you, Colonel, since you've been honest with me. I'm flying by the seat of my pants here. And I really need some help if I'm going to find Jon and get him back here."

Jay shook his head. "I don't know what to tell you, Ma'am. We're doing our best, but it ain't easy following a new path to the river."

"Does it really matter how you get there if the river's still there when you get there?"

"No, Ma'am, I guess not. I gotta go. There's a long patrol tomorrow I gotta fly. Be better for everyone if I was awake."

"Good-night, Cowboy. Get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." She waited til her was gone, then shut off the lights and sat staring into the dark.

Stargazer held Tallyhawk's control unit in one hand, absently rubbing his thumb over the small screen. He'd wondered often in the past two weeks if insisting that Quicksilver turn it in had been his undoing. It was more than his first officer's attachment to the control panel and what it represented. The unit had buried in it a tiny homing beacon. There was no saying for certain that Jon would still have had it on him, whatever had happened, But it would have been a place to start, at least. Now, he had to put it to another use.

"Lieutenant MoonHawke to my office." It still sounded strange to his ears, but he was getting used to it as the days went by.

  
"Took you long enough," he said when she entered a few moments later.

"Sorry. Forgot which elevator was which and got stuck on 5." She took the seat he indicated.

"How are those backed up reports coming?"

She sighed. "Slowly. But I think I have everything I need now to blow through them all and get them filed and off the board." She looked up at him. "Permission to speak freely?"

"Always. What's on your mind?"

"I feel like some kind of glorified secretary here. I'm sorting info, writing up contact incidents, filing reports. I did all of this back on Earth. What's the point of my being on a front-line team if I'm not going to actually see action?"

He regarded her for a moment. "Whose fault do you suppose that is?"

"I don't know. I can't figure out yet how the patrol assignments are being made. The others go out on some kind of esoteric schedule, and I have yet to break the code."

Stargazer sighed. "I'll give you a hint on this one, because I know you're trying and not getting a whole lot of help. The commanding field officer makes that schedule."

She considered that for several seconds. "They haven't come to me for a new duty roster. Colonel Bluegrass set that schedule when Quicksilver first went missing?"

"With SteelHeart's help, yes. Aurora, if you're going to lead these people, you have to by God lead, not just wait for someone to hand you the reigns and say they're yours."

She mulled this over for several minutes. "Okay. I think I understand that. Is there something you needed me for?"

He tossed her a slim gold wrist unit. "Here. See of you can't get one of the Twins to make that work for you. You need every advantage you can get your hands on."

She strapped it on, then removed it as it jangled between the heel of her hand and her forearm. On his perch above her, Tallyhawk gave her a glare. "Don't blame me, bud. I want the same thing you want." He stretched his wings a little and flapped down, settling heavily on her shoulder.

"He likes you already," Stargazer observed.

Aurora grimaced as his talons dug through her jacket into her shoulder. "I see why everyone goes around in armor most of the time. Cut me a little slack there, bud. New shoulders aren't easy to come by." The grip eased a little and she nodded. "That's better. We're out of here, then."

"Good luck." He waited until the door closed before he completed his thought. "You'll need it."

The Twins' Workshop occupied part of the Repair Bay, and Aurora nodded to Bluegrass as she passed him. He nodded back, noting with a lifted eyebrow Tallyhawk perched on her shoulder, but said nothing.

SteelWill was puttering at one of the workbenches, his back to her, and the smell of solder drifted past.

"Do you have a minute, SteelWill?"

He turned, and she watched his warm gray eyes go cold and flat. "What can I do for you, Lieutenant?"

The words were perfect, but his tone blew cold as wind off an Antarctic ice field. It stung her badly, because he'd been so supportive of her efforts at first. "This isn't my idea, Will. The Commander more or less ordered both of us into this." She stretched out one hand and gently set the wrist control on the tabletop. "And we're supposed to adjust this to work for me. It needs to be re-coded and" She paused a moment and took a deep breath. "It's too loose, so I need it fitted for my wrist."

Will picked it up, hand trembling slightly, and looked from it to Aurora. No tears stained her cheeks, but her eyes were suspiciously moist, and there was a fine tremble in her jaw where she fought to hold it still. "Okay,' he said at last. "Let's see what we can do."

She slid up on the table with a grateful smile. "Don't do anything permanent. When Jon gets back, he'll be needing that back."

Will smiled in return. "Yeah. I think we'll be able to manage something."

  
They were laughing together when Emily came in. "Will, patrol in 30." She watched him finish fixing the adjusted bad. "What are you doing?"

"Hang on a sec, Sis." He handed the control back to Aurora, and she tried it on. "How's that?"

Aurora shook her wrist a little and nodded. "Feels pretty good. And the codes are all mine now?"

"Yep. Should work fine."

"What's going on here?" Emily demanded.

"Commander's orders," Aurora said, hopping down. "Go ahead, Will. You don't want to be late."

"Thanks, Lieutenant. See you later." He gave her a nod and headed for the door.

SteelHeart glared at her. "You're not Little Mary Sunshine, you know."

"I'm well aware of that, Sergeant. You'd better get going. Don't want to be late for patrol."

Emily started at her a moment, then saluted and stormed out.

Aurora looked up at the tap on the open office door.

Zan was leaning against the frame. "Hear you picked up some new jewelry."

She resisted glancing down to the band around her left wrist. "Price of the job, I guess."

"Em's resentful. She's making it uncomfortable for some of us."

Aurora sighed. "She's going to have to work it out for herself. Nothing I say is going to help in the slightest."

"She thinks you're rubbing it in everyone's face. You answer to his title, sit in his office and you've taken over his bird. It could looka little aggressive."

Aurora put down her pen. "I am aggressive about exactly two things at this exact moment; getting Jon back and whipping this team back into shape. If Miss High and Mighty Emily Heart doesn't like now I'm doing either of those things, she can talk to me about it. Nothing else is her business, and I don't have time to pander to her delicate feelings. I have an outfit to run here, and I intend to do it to the best of my ability." She stood abruptly. "I have to go."

Zan lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yes. There's a patrol leaving in 5 minutes, and I should be on it."

Zan stepped back and gestured fluidly to the hallway. "Then by all means, don't let me keep you."

"Yeah. Thanks Zan. See you later." She flung off her jacket and track pants, liquid armor encasing her lower arms and legs as she moved. It covered her torso and upper limbs already. "And stop staring at my ass."

Zan just laughed. "Aawww, but it's such a nice ass."

"Two isn't enough for you, that you have to go chasing ass in the middle of the day? Mark's free, I hear. Go chase his ass. I have work to do."

"Uugh, him? I'd rather beg, borrow, steal or create a damned dildo before I make any move for that one. Thanks for the mood killer."

"Whatever works. I'm off to save the galaxy."

"About time," Zan muttered.

"I heard that." The elevator doors slid shut, cutting off the sound of her laughter.

  
Aurora walked out onto the hangar floor, very conscious of all the eyes on her, and feel very exposed by the form-fitting armor. She knew in her head she was decently covered, but it felt more like she was wearing a bikini bottom and a pair of boots. "Hey, Colonel, got room for one more?"

Emily turned from the pod she was checking and frowned. "You're not on the schedule for patrol."

Aurora gave her a very direct look. Time to take charge. "I am now. Load up, SilverHawks. Standing here talking won't get anything done." The others got in slowly while SteelHeart stared. "I'd get in if I was you, Sergeant," she said, settling into the far pod, Jon's pod. "This train's leaving the station on time, with or without you."

Em scrambling in as the engines warm up.

"Take us for a ride, Cowboy. And don't spare the go-juice."

The Maraj hurled down the launch tunnel and slipped through the force-field into space.

  
About time she figured things out. Emily heard Zan's voice echoing in her mind. 

You can't actually be in favor of this, Em replied. She's taking Jon's place.

No, I'm not. But it's about time she figured out how things are around here. I know what it's like to be an outsider, remember?

You weren't setting yourself up to take someone's place, Emily pointed out. Who made her the boss, that she can just walk in and do whatever she wants?

Those shiny little bits of metal on her uniform collar and the honchos on Earth made her 'boss'. And yeah, I wasn't, but as much of an ass Jon is, I still want to find him too. If nothing else, give her a chance. If she can't pull her weight, then bitch like crazy about it.

Give her enough weight and she won't be able to pull it no matter what she does, Emily thought darkly.

That didn't sounds good at all. Just don't do anything dangerous or stupid. We got one missing, don't need to lose another or 5.

The silence from Emily was slightly disturbing.

"Why do I always end up in this place?" Zan commented with a sigh as she leaned against the Med Bay door.  
  
"Bad luck?" Aurora suggested. She winced as the doctor tightened the bandage on her arm. "I need some circulation, guys."

Zan just sighed and shook her head. "How bad is it?"

"Looks bad, feels worse, but it's just surface damage. Nothing exciting." She winced again. "God, can you leave me some skin?"  
  
Zan wandered a bit closer, tilting her head some to take a gander at the burn. "Hmm... It'll heal clean. no scaring." She didn't bother to check with the doc to see if she was right.

"Nice to know. Still aches like a son of a bitch." They sprayed a little anesthetic on her arm, and she grimaced. "Now I have no feeling in my arm. Some trade off, huh? No, don't give me any pills. It's not that bad."

Zan just chuckled. "It feels like too little, looks like too much, and you wish it was over and done with quickly. Normal reactions for being in this place. Speaking of which...." she headed back to the door. "Your not getting me this time around," she commented to the Doc as he looked at her.

Aurora frowned. "What's all this about?"

"Stick around long enough and you'll find out."

"You think I'll eventually find out the secrets of the universe if I hang around long enough?"

"That one's easy. This is all one big cosmic joke and the universe is laughing at us"

Aurora snorted. "I'll believe that when I see it."

"and the only laws belong to Murphy," Zan finished.

"No kidding. Are you guys done?" she asked the doctor. "It's not going to fall off, right? I have a report to write." She swore under her breath.

"Speaking of fun," Zan winced slightly, "I need to go help calm someone down." She rolled her eyes some and shook her head, then muttered something to herself.

The intercom crackled to life. "Lieutenant MoonHawke to my office." 

Aurora sighed. "That makes two of us. See ya around."

"Later." Zan waved over her shoulder as she walked away, heading towards the lift for the personal quarters.

"Yeah." Aurora went to other way, toward the elevator to Command.

Aurora knocked at the office door and winced slightly. The anesthetic spray was wearing off fast, and her arm was starting to throb again.

"Enter." The Commanders voice was gruff, and she opened the door and slipped in quickly.

"Lieutenant MoonHawke, reporting as ordered, sir."

He studied her for a moment, eyes settling for some time on her wrapped right forearm. "How's the arm?" he asked at last.

She shrugged, careful to use her left shoulder only. "It's a little sore. It'll heal fine."

"I've taken preliminary reports from Bluegrass, SteelWill and the Copper Kidd. The details vary, but they all agree that you were hit from laser fire by SteelHeart when she fired against your direct order. Is that true?"

Aurora took a deep breath and gripped the back of the chair in front of her with her free hand. "It's not exactly correct. My orders were unclear, I think. I don't believe the sergeant was deliberately acting against me. It's really my fault, and I'll have to work harder in the future to be understood. It was just a miscommunication."

His ocular implant turned, and the Commander pinned her with his gaze. "Lieutenant," he began, the use of her rank making her tighten up, "I have a serious situation here. I have not one or two, but three reports all stating that you were injured by deliberate friendly fire. And I have you, the alleged victim, saying it was an accident and your own fault. Are you sure that's how you want this recorded? You know your report will be the official one, right?"

"I'm aware of all of that, sir. And it was an accident that I walked into. I will take the appropriate steps to be sure it never happens again." She pinned him as well with an identical gaze.

He finally looked away and laughed. "Okay. Have it your own way. Would you be offended if I said you probably had the biggest set of brass balls I'd ever seen, even being a woman?"

She smiled in return. "I'd just have to say I come by it honestly. Permission to be excused?"

"Where do you have to rush off to? You've been wounded. You're entitled to time off."

He watched as her eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth tightened a bit. "Like I said; I have to make sure I'm not misunderstood again."

"Permission granted. And good luck."

  
Aurora stared at the closed door for a full minute, gathering her courage. Twice she'd almost given up on the idea, thinking she would simply tackle it later. But nothing was going to make this job any easier, and letting the issue go would only make her difficult job that much harder. Finally, she lifted her hand and knocked on the door before she could think about stopping herself.

She wasn't really surprised when Zan opened the door. "Captain," she said in acknowledgement. "I need to speak to the sergeant."

Zan looked back into the room. "Think about what I said." she said before nodding once to Aurora and leaving.

Emily rose from the sofa. "I know why you're here. You don't have to say anything. I'll go pack."

"Why? You going somewhere?"

She turned back to look at Aurora. "I disobeyed a direct order and managed to get someone injured. Are you suggesting I don't deserve to get canned for that? I'm half-expecting a list of charges for court martial."

Aurora shrugged. "Considering the severity of what happened, that's certainly a possibility. Do you know what your brother said to me? He said, and I quote, 'Do what you have to do, Lieutenant.' What does that say about what happened out there, Sergeant, if your own brother is willing to watch you get smacked down for that stunt."

"I know it was dumb, but-"

"There are no 'buts,' Sergeant." Aurora sighed. "I'm in a dilemma here. Yes, you disobeyed a direct order, and there were casualties as a result. For that, yes, you should be on the next ship back to Earth for court martial. But we're short-handed out here, emotionally if not physically. The situation is what it is, SteelHeart. If you can't cope, then I'd rather have a hole in the ranks out there than someone at my back I can't trust. So you need to make up your mind how it's going to be." She turned to leave.

"What about the charges? What am I facing?"

Aurora looked back at her. "Nothing. I covered for you. Don't make me do it again." She turned again and left.

Aurora poured over the map again, tracing the black line from Hawk Haven to Dolar to Bedlama over and over. Lord Cash and Seymore had both repeated the same story every time they were asked. Jon had gone to Dolar, made a withdrawal in cash, and then gone on to Bedlama. There, it was easy enough to find the hotel he'd stayed at, and after some serious persuasion, the owner had finally turned over the bag Jon had left behind. The bag had been rifled , and a protest lodged with the Bedlama police. The paperwork for that was near the bottom of a very thin file relating to Jon's disappearance.

From the hotel, the trail went cold very quickly. Zan and the other 'Hawks had shown pictures and asked questions at ever shop and coffee bar in Bedlama City, then all over the planet, but there was nothing. Somehow, Jon had vanished off the face of a populated planet, and no one had seen a thing.

Aurora didn't believe it. She tapped a nail on Bedlama, looking at the rest of the galaxy. The team had searched from the Artificial Sun to the Light-Year Limit and nothing new had turned up. Zan, in her unique position of being with the team but not of it, had done her best to cover Fense and the other outposts beyond the SilverHawks' control. But it was a huge area, and no one really knew exactly what they were looking for.

Tallyhawk squealed from his makeshift perch on the back of a chair, and Aurora looked up at him. "I know, buddy. I'm frustrated, too." She was becoming more familiar with the nuances of the modified bird's communication. She watched as he shifted from foot to foot, then felt realization creep over her. There was a stack of reconnaissance photos of the inner galaxy, taken by Tally and the other fighting hawks, but they had nothing similar from the outer galaxy beyond the limit.

"Come here, buddy." He hopped obediently onto the desk, and she quickly downloaded all of his data stores, clearing his memory of everything he'd collected so far. "This is a long shot," she murmured, entering search coordinates, and it might not be legal, even, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Finished, she offered her arm, and he hopped onto it. "We're grasping at straws here, pal, but it's all we've got left." She carried him down to the hangar and let him fly toward the Light Year Limit and their last chance.

  
The pictures started pouring in within hours. People, people and more people; the sad, desperate inhabitants of Fense. They walked, talked and shopped, but so far, they didn't show Aurora anything she wanted to know.

Three hours and countless photos later, she had something. Two figures were frozen in mid-conversation, near the mouth of an alley. One was non-descript, but that wasn't the one she wanted. It was the other figure who had caught her eye. There was almost nothing of the Jon she'd known in him, but some subtle spark remained. The hair was different; longer, and lighter now. The former hard planes of muscle were gone, too. The figure was gaunt, hunched as if some bitter cold sliced straight through his clothes. But she knew that profile. She'd studied it for months, dreamed of it at night, longed for it to turn toward her and smile. Somehow, that stick-thin, defeated figure was Jon.

Her finger hovered over the intercom button to share the news, and she hesitated. She knew them now, knew what they would do. They'd scramble for Fense, regulations cast aside and trampled underfoot. And this poor pathetic figure would suffer the humiliation of being discovered like this. She had to get him back, but in a way that wouldn't hurt his pride.

"Aurora to Zan. Can you come down to the office for a moment?" She'd been careful. It was always 'the office.' Never 'my office.'

  
Zan knocked at the open door a few minutes later. "What's up?"

"Come in," Aurora said. "Shut the door, then have a seat. I need you to look at something."

She lifted an eyebrow, then did as Aurora requested. "So?" Wordlessly, Aurora handed her a pile of photos. "What am I looking at?"

"Fense. I sent Tally over to photograph every inch of the place he could reach."

Zan frowned. "I've been over Fense with a fine-toothed comb. He wasn't there."

Aurora shrugged. "I don't think we can assume he's been stuck in one place for two months. We'd have found him if that was the case."

Zan studied the picture, paying particular attention to the figure Aurora had circled in bold black ink. It certainly could be the Golden Boy, though if it was, he'd been tarnished quite a bit since she'd seen him last. She flipped through the pages Aurora had handed her, carefully keeping her expression neutral. None of these photos were marked, and she wasn't sure Aurora had looked at them all. Jon, if it was Jon, spoke to the other figure, there was an exchange of currency, and the Jon and the figure disappeared into the alley. Zan knew that alley, that whole neighborhood, in fact. What went on after the last picture wasn't a speculation she wanted to share. She muttered something to softly to hear then frowned. "I need to go. If you need to get a hold of me, the twins have the private numbers. Don't know when I'll get back."

"Shouldn't someone go with you?"

Zan considered a moment. "...No.. It's best I go alone. You Hawks tend to ..attract unwanted attention. Besides, some of my contacts would be rather upset."

"No one out there knows me yet," Aurora pointed out.

Zan crossed her arms, frowning in thought. "It won't be safe where I'm going......"

"Not a heck of a lot of places are really safe."

"Don't think the old man would be too happy if I haul you off into the unknown and get you ruffed up." She'd have preferred Emily's company, Em at least had an alter-ego for Fense.

"I'm not that fragile, but it's clear you don't want me along to do the job I said I came out here to do. But take someone along in case things go south."

Zan shook her head. "It's not that. It's that you're an unknown. Took Em several weeks just to get people I dealt with to accept her. I got people I can count on when I'm there. As well as a place or three to crash and hide if need be."

Aurora snorted. "You're pretty blasé about someone who was sent out there to spy on you."

Zan snorted "Let's say we had our differences worked out. Rather forcefully..." Something flickered in her eyes ".... anyway, that's history."

"Take SteelHeart," Aurora pressed. "Then if something goes bad, the rest of us have a clear reason to cross the Limit and come in with guns blazing."

"I don't know how long I'll be gone for sure, You guys are short handed as is."

"We'll manage. Don't waste any time, though. The priority is getting Jon back here where we can take care of him."

Zan let out a sigh as she reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose "All right, fine, whatever.... have her meet me in the hangar in 10. Tell her I'm going to Fense, she'll know what to grab."

"Okay. Straight out, as straight back as you can. This is no time for side trips and sightseeing," Aurora stressed.

Zan snorted again. "No, no side trips unless it's to pick.... never mind, it's easier to have deniability if you don't know what goes on." She waved a hand, dismissing whatever she was going to say. "I'll be in the hangar waiting." She turned to head off to the elevator.

"Hey, Phantom, be careful," Aurora called. "Much as I want Jon back, I'm not willing to lose more people over it. If you can't get him this time, we'll try it another way."

She turned slightly and nodded. "Yeah." 

"Damned cocky pilots," Aurora muttered.

"I heard that," she called as the doors were closing, one hand parked on her hip and a smirk on her face.

"I wouldn't have said it otherwise."

  
Aurora leaned in the doorway after the elevator had closed. The first part of her assignment was within reach, maybe. With a sigh, she pushed away from the door and moved over to the desk to alert SteelHeart. Maybe this time, she and Jon could talk before it was too late.

-fin  


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